Investigating low proficiency ESL students’ perception of the use of i-Think Maps

Abstract

Limited vocabulary in the English language and grammatical inaccuracy pose great challenges in writing for the low proficient ESL students. However, the use of i-Think Maps can be utilised to guide the students to “think” of the contents before writing their essays. This qualitative paper is part of a study on i-Think map use in Malaysian ESL classrooms. The focus group interview provides the perception on the use of four types of i-Think Maps in the low proficiency ESL students written tasks. The findings suggest that the students experience a reduced apprehension towards writing; participate more actively in their writing tasks; improve their logical flow of ideas and made attempts to complete their writing tasks. This study suggests that i-Think Maps, if used effectively in classroom practices can yield interest among the low proficiency students who have apprehension in ESL writing tasks. This study has pedagogical implication in facilitating students’ writing via the use of i-Think Maps. As the students have the background knowledge of i-Think map use across their curriculum, it is recommended that the teachers optimise the guided use of i-Think map in the ESL classrooms.